There are many collisions between motor vehicles in which the vehicles involved have substantial velocities after the collision and are subsequently involved in further collisions and/or rollovers. These secondary events may be even more devastating than the initial collision. The remaining kinetic energy of a vehicle after the primary collision may be dissipated in a secondary collision (resulting in injury or loss of life). Other loss of control events, such as driver error, may also result in subsequent collisions.
Most vehicles have an energy absorbing structure within the front end of the vehicle as well as front airbags. It is very common that, as a result of the primary collision, the vehicle is skewed with respect to the path of its motion or it may spin. The result may be either a vehicle rollover or a secondary collision in which the vehicle contacts an obstruction at a point other than the front, thereby bypassing the energy absorbing structure and/or the front airbags are not actuated.
The present invention is aimed at one or more of the problems identified above.